Lee Jones, pictured, disappeared from work after he was accused of trying to defraud a former friend

A luxury spa has called in fraud investigators after the general manager who appeared on a fly-on-the-wall documentary allegedly disappeared with £10,000 in petty cash.

Lee Jones, general manager of Champneys in Tring, Hertfordshire which charges up to £1,200 a night, vanished days after the ITV show was broadcast when a former disgruntled friend recognised him and phoned the spa.

The friend, Cheryl Howard said that Jones had tried to use her Harrods store card to buy more than £2,000 in luxury goods.

Jones, 40, told the luxury resort's owners that his mother had shares in Louis Vuitton while his father was an eminent QC.

However, it has emerged that this is not the case and his parents live in a former council house in the West Midlands.

The spa's co-owner Stephen Purdew told Mail Online: 'The police are investigating this. We went to the local station and then to Action Fraud who said they would be back to us later this week.

'Lee Jones was utterly charming and if he was honest, he'd be very successful in life. It is such a shame because he was doing such a great job here. The staff are devastated because they were working really hard fro him.

'I got his CV through an agency and it now seems that everything on it was false. He is a conman. I found him very charming and I liked him.'

The spa is currently undergoing a massive renovation which is around 80 per cent complete.

Mr Purdew added: 'He threw away such a good opportunity working here. It is a great job, but I have someone coming in next Monday who I know very well.

'He is going to end up ripping off some old lady if he is allowed to continue like this.'

Jones began working in Champneys in September 2013 as assistant manager and was promoted to general manager in April.

The 'incredibly charismatic' general manager, who drove a luxury £60,000 Range Rover told work colleagues that he had recently bought a £5 million property in Notting Hill in London, however the street he named does not exist.

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His former friend Cheryl Howard met Jones while he worked in a London hotel. He claimed he was temporarily homeless and she invited him to move into her house in Surrey.

While staying at her house, Ms Howard claims Jones tried to buy more than £2,000 of clothes and garden equipment on her Harrods store card.

She reported the attempt to Action Fraud.

Jones was general manager with Champneys and was spotted by his former friend Cheryl Howard who spotted him during

Ms Howard rang Champneys after the documentary was screened on ITV to alert them to Jones' past.

When confronted by Stephen Purdew, the spa's co-owner, Jones denied all knowledge of Ms Howard's claims suggesting they were a 'fantasy'.

He left work telling Mr Purdew that he was going to consult with a lawyer.

Subsequently it emerged that £10,000 was missing from petty cash.

It is claimed that Jones withdrew £6,100 from petty cash last week following an earlier claim of £3,500.

Mr Purdew confirmed that he did not authorise either transaction.

Ms Howard said she became very good friends with Jones and even introduced him to all of her friends when she became aware there was a problem.

'I was in Harrods and one of the managers asked me how it was that I was simultaneously in the store and trying to buy something on my online account. Someone using the delivery address of my house in Weybridge was trying to order £2,080 worth of kitchen equipment, flowers, sports clothing and suits.'

Both Hertfordshire Police and Action Fraud have been contacted for comment.